


Breathe Underwater

by MrsNazarioWrites



Series: The Edge of the World [12]
Category: Choices (Visual Novel), Choices - Fandom, Choices - Stories you play, Perfect Match (Visual Novel), Pixelberry - Fandom, Play Choices, PlayChoices
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Angst and Drama, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst and Romance, Captivity, Don't copy to another site, Drama, Drama & Romance, Emotional Manipulation, F/M, Heavy Angst, Humiliation, Implied/Referenced Torture, Non-Graphic Violence, Psychological Torture, Romance, Sexual Harassment, Suspense, Thriller
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:27:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21926356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrsNazarioWrites/pseuds/MrsNazarioWrites
Summary: When Harley returns, it’s all Dexter and Maya can do not to blow their cover. But when the truth of Damien’s interrogation comes to light and Maya is presented with a cruel dilemma, everyone is pushed to their breaking point.
Relationships: Damien Nazario/Main Character (Perfect Match)
Series: The Edge of the World [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1443856
Comments: 2
Kudos: 1





	Breathe Underwater

**Author's Note:**

> Perma-note: Dames’ name is Dexter in this series.  
Important A/N: So this is a bit of a sensitive chapter with what’s about to happen. I’ve kept the writing as tame and non-graphic as possible, but I’m including some warnings just to be safe.
> 
> Content Warnings for this chapter: Psychological Warfare, Humiliation, mentions of torture, Sexual Harassment
> 
> There are feelings of humiliation and vulnerability, but no sexual acts will actually take place.
> 
> The supporting lyrics are from the song A Shot in the Dark, by Within Temptation

** _‘Cause your soul is on fire, a shot in the dark_ **

** _What did they aim for when they missed your heart?_ **

“This is an interesting turn of events.” Harley sauntered over to them with a smug look on his face.

“Harley.” Dexter tensed, shifting awkwardly. “You know, most people knock before entering a room.”

“And miss out on this blockbuster moment?” He quipped. “I don’t think so! I mean _what a scene!_” He exclaimed, looking between Dexter and Maya. “Funny thing is, I was just coming by to see what was taking our other friend so long, and what do I find?” He gestured towards Maya. "Not only did he _not show up_, I find you two … _holding hands_.“ Harley took another step towards his partner. "Sooo? What’s the scene here, buddy?”

So clearly Harley hadn’t overheard _everything_, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t about to have some questions about this.

Maya immediately locked eyes with Dexter, well aware of her pounding heart. Knowing that Harley was watching them, Maya resisted the urge to shake her head and settled for biting her lip nervously and letting her eyes make her plea for her. _Please don’t tell him. _Dexter gave her a hard look, knowing exactly what she wanted him to withhold. It was a lot to ask for sure, especially considering that Eros was going to find out about the allegiance of their latest doppelganger, one way or another.

A series of emotions flitted across his expression before it smoothed over. Then Dexter immediately faced Harley. “Who says there’s a scene at all?” He asked calmly.

Harley just raised an eyebrow.

“Although, when you put it _that way_, I can see why you’d think that.” He remained steadfast under Harley’s burning stare. “But for the record, I only came here to deliver some lunch and then _she …_” He jerked his thumb back toward Maya. “Started giving me trouble. Yelling, getting all emotional … you know the drill by now.”

Harley snorted. “Of course she did.”

“Naturally I got tired of her taking shots at me all day, so I thought I’d have a go just this once.” Dexter’s face twisted into a smirk, deliberately enough that Maya had to wonder if it was genuine. “Pretty convincing, huh?”

“That’s …” Harley eyed him skeptically, then Maya.

Maya looked to Alana, who subtly tilted her head in his direction, silently urging her: _‘just play along’_. Knowing it was all to keep Nadia and her friends safe, Maya took a deep breath and turned on Harley, glowering at him when he glanced at her. “Lying cheats, both of you.” she muttered. “Just say whatever else you have to say and get out.”

Then Harley looked back at Dexter until his face broke into a wide smile. “That’s brilliant!” He clapped his hands on Dexter’s shoulders, not noticing the flash of relief on the Match’s face. “And here I was thinking you’d gone soft on me!”

“I try.”

“_Anywho_,” His earlier suspicion gone for now, Harley let him go and then beckoned towards the door. Two guards entered carrying in a table, chairs and a small monitor. “Back to what I was _really_ here for.”

Dexter narrowed his eyes. “What’s going on now?”

“What’s going on is the next phase of this experiment,” Harley explained. “I still don’t know what happened to our other guy, but since you took care of his part, it looks like things are still going according to plan.” He turned to his partner, smiling. “Good.”

“Good? Why is that good?”

“Every bit of data we get on human emotion pushes Eros’ technology further,” He said. Then he cocked his head. “Surely you still understand that. _Right?_” He emphasized that last word a little more forcefully.

Dexter swallowed hard, then nodded. “Of course.”

“Now while you two were busy re-enacting a romantic tragedy, Cecile and I have been getting 'acquainted’ with Damien.” Harley walked over to Maya, grinning snidely. “I knew you were upset at being kept apart _again_. Figured the least I could do was keep you updated.”

After the mention of Damien, the rest of the answer had gone over her head, as Maya could only focus on what the guards were doing now. She felt her apprehension growing by the second as she watched them set up the table and then leave. She didn’t even notice Harley was behind her until she felt her elbow being grabbed. “Hey, what-” He pulled her over to the chair and sat her down, facing the monitor. “What is all this?!” She demanded.

“Oh Maya, isn’t it obvious? I’ve got something to show you.” Harley pulled out a small remote and switched it on. The screen revealed Damien with his cuffed arms suspended above him. Cecile, Rowan and a guard stood in front of him, brandishing a stun gun.

“Oh my god!” Alana immediately yanked herself forward, only to be stopped by her handcuffs.

“Damien!” Maya gasped and instinctively moved to get up, but Harley’s hand gripped her shoulder and forced her to sit back down.

“Keep quiet and watch,” he hissed. “And you,” Now he was addressing Dexter, jerking his chin towards Alana. “Stay there and watch her.”

_The guard pressed the stun gun into Damien’s side. There was a buzz of electricity and Damien’s body jolted. He squirmed against the current for a few seconds until the guard stepped back._

_“Ticklish,” Damien quipped. “Good for your first try, though.”_

_“That was just the trial.” The guard adjusted something on the device and then returned to address the P.I. “Hope you’ve saved your energy, Nazario.”_

Maya watched in terror as Damien arched his back, gritting his teeth. His hands were balled into fists as he visibly endeavored to breathe through the pain.

_“That the best you got?”_

_“Not even close.”_

Maya couldn’t watch anymore. “Stop it.” She said urgently. Harley moved to turn off the monitor, but then she grabbed at his jacket. “No, I meant stop hurting him!” Tears welled in her eyes as she looked to Dexter. “Please!”

_While Cecile and Rowan pressured him with questions, the guard cranked up the voltage further before repeating the procedure. This time, Damien let out a strained groan as the electricity coursed through his body. His muscles tensed and spasmed as he writhed in agony. The guard held the device steady as he continued to shock Damien at short, regular intervals, sneering at him._

“Stop!” Maya covered her ears and squeezed her eyes shut. Every pained shout pierced her ears and cut through her like a dagger. Soon, his screams were drowned out by her own, echoing off the metal walls of her prison. “Don’t hurt him!”

She wasn’t even aware of when the monitor was switched off and Damien’s torment wasn’t on camera for them to see. When she could no longer hear his voice, she looked up to find everyone staring at her.

“Now here’s what’s going to happen, Maya.” Harley said as he sneered at her. “Should you agree to cooperate, we’re willing to give Damien a little break.”

Maya simply glared at him. But then his next words made her blood turn to ice.

“Now, I’m going to need you to remove your clothes.”

Her anger melted into shock and her mind went blank as she stared at him in horror.

“Of course rest assured, you won’t be harmed in any way.”

“What?” seemed to be the only word that could come out of her mouth.

“You heard me. That’s the deal,” He said. “Of course, you don’t _have_ to do it but that just means we’d need to use other interrogation methods on Damien.”

She tried to say something again, but couldn’t seem to make a sound. She turned to Alana, whose gaze was darting between her and Harley. Even Dexter looked appalled, his once-crossed arms now hanging stiffly at his sides.

“What does this even have to do with your experiment?” Alana asked evenly. Her expression remained composed to the point that only a highly trained professional would’ve picked up on the flash of outrage, simmering underneath.

“Now if I told you that, the results wouldn’t exactly be accurate, would they?”

“Right, of course. 'Results’.” Alana rolled her eyes. “_This_ is what Eros has millions of dollars to spend on? You know there are plenty of strip clubs in town if you’re that starved.”

“Ugh, now why’d you have to go there?” Harley wrinkled his nose in disgust. “I’m programmed to be a perfect match for specific personalities, not to go fooling around in a den full of mindless junkies. You humans and your warped priorities are really something.” Then he walked around to Maya’s side of the table, peering down at her. “And anyways, it’s not as though we could frame the environment to decrease hostility can we?”

He reached out as if he was going to touch her cheek, but stopped halfway, smirking at her. “I did say I wouldn’t touch you, Maya.” He gestured to his hand, which was a good few feet away from her. “See? I can keep my word. In addition,” he pointed at Alana. “You even have the benefit of a female being present to ease your mind.”

“N-no.” Maya choked out, scooting back in her chair instinctively. She took a deep, shaky breath and struggled to compose herself. “No,” she spoke out more clearly. “You can’t make me do this!” Then she turned to Dexter, who was watching her with narrowed eyes. “Dexter, you can’t seriously be okay with this!” she pleaded. “I know you’re not Damien, but you do have his personality! This is _not_ something he’d want for _anyone_!”

Dexter said nothing. Only the storm of uncertainty in his eyes spoke for him as he processed that.

“Please,” she begged. “You don’t have to do this!”

“I’m sorry,” Harley was looking between them, before he watched Maya incredulously. “Are you seriously appealing to _him_?”

“I-”

“Well this is intriguing,” He placed his hands on the table and bent forward to scrutinize her. “One change in appearance and you’ve developed this much trust in him.”

“What?! What the hell are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about the fact that in spite of everything he’s done so far, you still believe he’s going to help you. All because he looks exactly like your boyfriend.”

“No, I-”

“That personality you’re referring to? All information uploaded from Damien’s file.” He gestured to Dexter, smirking. “It must have felt so real to you when he pulled off his little masquerade at the Louvre, didn’t it Maya?”

“Eros may have distorted it to fit their own ends,” Maya said sharply. “But that doesn’t mean they can change the real thing!” Her voice became a little more steady as she faced him defiantly. “Human or not, Damien would never hurt me! He would protect me at all costs!”

Harley didn’t even flinch. “You’re right,” he said sadly. “Damien’s an honorable man. Courageous, strong and clever. He knows how to find his way out of situations like this, wouldn’t he? But this time with _you_ around, he’s holding back. Why would he endure so much unnecessary pain, if not to protect you?” He leaned forward, his eyebrows arched in sympathy. “Surely you don’t want to be the reason for his pain? Just cooperate and _you_ could help _him_ for once.”

Maya was at a loss for words. “But …” She looked around her helplessly, struggling to figure a way out of this; to keep Damien safe without having to suffer humiliation, without giving Eros the satisfaction of being able to manipulate her.

There was no way this stunt was going to let Damien off the hook. This was just one of many sick mind games they had in store for them and she wasn’t naïve enough to think that things weren’t going to get worse from here on out. But what else could she do at the moment? Damien was alone. Alana was restrained and she herself was at the mercy of two androids tasked with collecting 'data’ from her. Sloane and the others were still miles away; unless they got here soon or Damien or Alana managed to free themselves, no one could help her.

Harley observed her in silence for a little longer as she continued to sift through her thoughts. Then he sighed and pulled out his comm, his eyes never leaving hers. “Set it to maximum.”

Maya’s eyes widened and she shot out of her seat, every logical thought going out the window. “No, don’t!” Then she could hear Damien’s tortured screams again from over the intercom, louder than ever. Her heart felt as though it would tear into pieces and she gripped the edge of the table. “Stop!” She wailed. “I’ll do it, okay? Just _please_ stop it!”

Harley muttered a quick command into the device and just like that, the deafening noise stopped. Maya collapsed back into her chair, sobbing. He crossed his arms, watching her expectantly. “Now are you gonna cooperate?”

Maya’s sniffling started to quiet, but she managed a quick nod. She stood up from her chair, still shaking.

“Whenever you’re ready.”

She could hear the rattling of metal against the wall as Alana pulled at her cuffs, frustrated. “Maya … _no-_”

“I have to, Alana.” she wept. “I’m sorry. I can’t watch them …” Keeping her gaze on the floor, she wiped her face and then took a deep breath. Though tears continued to spill from her eyes, she willed herself not to lose her composure again.

Maya had to focus her efforts to get her arms to work as she pulled her shawl off from around her neck, not looking at where she tossed it aside. She heard a shift of movement, but kept her eyes on herself, therefore not noticing when Dexter turned his head away to hide his pained expression.

Her fingers trembled as she unbuttoned her shirt, reluctantly sliding it off. The cold air hit her skin and she instinctively hugged herself. From the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of Alana averting her gaze; her sleek brown hair covering her face.

“Keep going.” she could hear the amusement in Harley’s voice. Maya wasn’t sure if anything … else was going through his mind at the moment, but she didn’t dare look at him to find out. Her mind went numb and she swallowed hard, unfastening the button of her jeans and removing them. Now in only her undergarments, Maya stepped away, hugging her shoulders again, allowing her long violet hair to fall forward, covering as much of her as it could.

“Harley _please_, this is more than enough-” She could barely speak above a whisper. Her muscles were stiff as she fought to keep her balance. “I’ve done what you asked. Let me at least keep these on.”

Harley seemed to consider that, then Dexter spoke up. “I think that’s enough, Harley. You’ve already achieved the purpose.”

“All right, fair enough,” He replied. “Now that wasn’t so hard was it?”

“Go to hell.” Maya snapped.

“Ooh you seem touchy.” Harley sneered. “Anyway, a deal’s a deal and I appreciate your cooperation, Maya.” Maya knelt down to take back her clothes, only for him to swipe them out of her reach. “I’ll be holding onto these if you don’t mind.”

She pressed her lips together, fighting to maintain self-control. Then she glanced at Alana, who was glaring at Harley with a cold fury in her eyes that Maya hadn’t seen before; her fingers whitened from clenching her fists.

“Ready to go see Damien?”

Maya bit back a gasp as the true intent behind this finally made sense._ Oh god, what have I done? _She’d expected this the second he’d made that unreasonable demand in the first place, but hearing it was so much worse as she realized what was about to go down. How was she supposed to face Damien in such a state?

Not too long ago, she’d wanted nothing more than to see him again. But now …

_No, I don’t want to go. Not like this._

“You’re fine now, Maya. No one’s gonna hurt you.”

Nothing had happened. Harley had surprisingly kept true to his word and hadn’t laid a hand on her, yet she still felt so violated.

She watched as Harley opened the door and stood outside, waiting. Taking a deep breath, still covering her chest, Maya walked forward numbly. Just as she reached the door, there was a sudden movement and Alana brushed past her, moving to stand between her and Harley.

He raised an eyebrow at her. “What are you doing?”

“Coming with you, of course,” she said point-blank. “I’m the additional 'female presence’ you used for your experiment, remember?” she challenged. “You wouldn’t want to compromise your data at this point.”

“She has a point,” Dexter said softly.

Harley frowned. “We don’t even need her for this-”

“Hey!” Alana snapped. “Haven’t you done enough?!” Then she narrowed her eyes dangerously. “You might have me in handcuffs now and threatened to kill me numerous times, but don’t think for a damn second that I’m standing around because I’m intimidated by you.” She stepped forward. “You do _not_ wanna leave me to my own devices. One way or another, there’s no way in _hell_ I’m leaving her alone with you after this.”

They locked eyes in a deadly stare for several moments until Harley waved his hand dismissively. “Fine,” he spat. “Don’t try anything funny though.”

“I won’t if _you_ won’t.”

Harley was about to react to that but then Dexter stepped between them, clearing his throat. “Harley, I’ll take care of this. Why don’t you go on ahead?” When he was met with a skeptical look, he managed to force a convincing smirk on his face. “Let me handle this while you give Damien the good news …”

His partner’s surprised expression immediately changed to that of pride. “That’s a perfect idea.” He placed a hand on his shoulder, nodding approvingly. “I’ll go ahead then. Don’t take too long.”

Maya was watching this whole interaction, momentarily taken aback by Dexter’s sudden change. He’d gone from being completely conflicted over this whole thing to complying with everything Harley was doing - and at this point, she’d just about lost any hope she’d had for him. The rational part of her told her Dexter couldn’t have interfered without throwing himself and everyone else under the bus, but that didn’t make it hurt any less.

But then just like that, here he was again, keeping Harley away from them.

_What the hell is going on?!_

Suddenly, she felt something brush against her arm and she jumped fearfully, hugging herself more tightly.

“Easy, Maya. You’re okay.” Alana held her hands up slightly. Her handcuffs were dangling off one of her wrists while the other held Maya’s discarded shawl. “I just thought you might need this,” she whispered. “I hid it behind me when Harley wasn’t looking.”

“Alana …” Maya watched, astonished, as Alana draped the shawl around her shoulders in an unusually gentle way. “Thank you.” She cracked a small, grateful smile as she held the ends together, notably relieved at how it provided an extra covering for her. “But Harley said- and Dexter-”

“Won’t do anything about this.” The agent spoke with confidence as she eyed the wary Match standing at the doorway.

Maya’s eyes darted in that direction where she noticed that Harley was already gone. Only Dexter stood there, his body taut with tension. He was pointedly looking away, and at the same time, placing himself in front of the opening as if in a futile attempt to shield them from sight. “You’re probably right, Alana.” There was a tinge of bitterness in her voice, but no defiance this time. “We’re way past that point now.”

Dexter flinched. “Maya, I-”

“Save it. I know.” Letting out a resigned sigh, she braced herself and walked past him; following closely behind Alana. Though they were now out in the open, it was fortunately the middle of the night; which meant there was hardly anyone around. Still, Alana seemed to make it a point to shield her at every turn.

As they made their way to the other cargo container where Damien was, she involuntarily slowed her movement and almost collided with Dexter. She locked her teary eyes with his and he stepped back. His gaze swept over her before quickly fixating on the ground and they continued walking.

Maya hadn’t looked at him for too long, but it had still been enough to pick up on something else in his eyes. She was half convinced that she was imagining the emotion in there that she hadn’t seen clearly enough or even expected from him.

At least not until now.

Guilt.

But what Maya hadn’t picked up on was the anger bubbling underneath; the little beads of sweat starting to appear on his forehead, the slight trembling in his hands - little manifestations barely concealing the rising tide from within as that faraway look in his eyes from before returned …

_“I hated the person I was back then. I never want to be that man again. I did a lot of things I’m not proud of. I worked undercover, never knowing who I could trust, lying to good people who didn’t deserve it.”_

_“But you did it to help them. You _protected_ those people."_

_“… I couldn’t protect everyone.”_

** _I breathe underwater, it’s all in my hands,_ **

** _What can I do, don’t let it fall apart …_ ** ****


End file.
